Oilfield chemistry

Corrosion and Scale Formation in High-Temperature Sour-Gas Wells

Sour gas is being produced from a number of carbon-steel-completed wells in the US, Canada, France, and Saudi Arabia.

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Flowback of HCl and Iron as a function of time after an acidization job on Well E.

Sour gas is being produced from a number of carbon-steel-completed wells in the US, Canada, France, and Saudi Arabia. The gas stream contains various levels of hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide (CO2) and is produced from high-temperature reservoirs with temperatures ranging from 160 to 410°F. The combination of hydrogen sulfide with high temperatures introduces challenges related to corrosion and iron sulfide (FeS) scale formation.

FeS Scales

FeS is found naturally in different forms. The gas-production systems studied in this paper have large concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, so iron is a limiting reactant in these systems. FeS formation is favored thermodynamically.

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